Sequim man guilty on 18 counts in sex trial

A former church pastor from Sequim was found guilty by a Clallam County judge on Wednesday of six counts each of child rape, child molestation and incest, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and the Peninsula Daily News have reported.

Steven G. Welty, 59, faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 16. Judge Brooke Taylor ruled that Welty sexually abused a young relative multiple times when she was ages 4 to 10. Welty waived his right to a jury.

Welty was pastor of the Glory House Fellowship in Sequim until it closed in 2009, according to investigators. He also founded the Sequim Community Help Center, a social services agency that shared facilities with the church. Both folded when Welty and his wife could no longer keep them financially afloat, according to the Sequim Gazette.

The victim testified against Welty at trial for almost an hour and a half. She said Welty would sexually abuse her when she visited his home in Sequim. She told her mother, who reported the abuse to sheriff’s detectives.

Deputy Prosecutor Ann Lundwall commended the victim. “She was amazing. She just glared back at (Welty) without blinking or flinching and stared him down. She is an extraordinary young lady and showed remarkable courage.”

Two other female relatives testified that Welty sexually abused them as children after the judge allowed their testimony.